1821 Info 8a: Caleb Crompton
William Henry Cox Junior and his descendents
William Henry COX(CROMPTON)
William Henry COX was born in 1882 at Mt. Jeffcott, Victoria, and it was
not long after this that his father, also William Henry COX, passed away. William's
mother, Elizabeth Emily Milner CROMPTON, was unable to cope with the new arrival and the
loss of her husband so she gave William away to her brother and his wife,
Charles Walter CROMPTON and
Elizabeth COX. Charles and Elizabeth were, in fact, unable to have children of their own.
William's upbringing, with his uncle and aunt, was very tough as Charles worked him
very hard on the farm and it is said that he was basically a servant. It is most likely
that this was the reason that William ran away at the age of 13. He was living in
Victoria at the time and when he ran away he made his way across the desert to Western
Australia. William moved around through his teenage years and into his twenties,
presumably trying to find work etc. At one point he was stung by
Above: William Henry taken 9 January 1943
an insect on his eye and he ended up losing the sight in his right eye.
He was befriended by a tribe of aborigines at one point and he lived with them for a time
and they looked after him.
After many years he eventually made his way back to Victoria, but not to his family. He
met and fell in love with Alice Jessie Mabel DOBSON, a domestic servant born in South
Brighton in 1890. Alice's parents, Robert (b.1856) a railway employee and Jessie
Cochrane DOBSON (b.1860), (nee Carse) of Poowong, Gippsland, South Victoria did not like
William at all. He was a heavy drinker and very keen gambler, vices perhaps of his
nomadic life.
Alice was given an ultimatum by her parents: stop seeing William Henry or be disown. Alice
stuck to her guns though and William and Alice married on 03 May 1913 in the Dorcas Street
Presbyterian Church, South Melbourne. Alice never spoke to her parents again.
Right: Click on the image for a 488Kb full size marriage certificate image.
1821info8a, sheet 2
It's interesting to note that William's marriage certificate records his surname as
COX-CROMPTON, which he no doubt had because his uncle and aunt were Crompton. But, on his
daughter's birth certificate (Stella May, born in 1922 and married at Marrickville, NSW) and
his death certificate he had changed back to Cox. Diane Thorne writes:
[When William Henry jnr was adopted he was] given the name COX-CROMPTON
as his mother did not want him to lose his true identity, and therefore some off-spring were
christened Cox-Crompton. The Crompton was dropped when my mother Stella was born.
My grandparents were quite poor people and here, as I'm
sure elsewhere, a double barrel name represented a certain status, which I'm sure
both of them felt uncomfortable with. Perhaps, when his adoptive parents died, he felt as
though he could drop the [Crompton] without hurting anyone's feelings. Although, this
to me doesn't seem to be the reason why as he always told of being mis-treated as a
youngster and that is why he absconded. He may have even dropped the name because of this
very thing!
Above: The Presbyterian Church at 210 Dorcas
Street, South Melbourne, circa 1900. The foundation stone of the present church, designed
and built by William Ireland, was laid on 1 November 1859 and the building opened on 18
March 1860. Further extensions took place in 1867 and later a spacious vaulted apsidal
organ chamber with vestries beneath.
Husband: William Henry Cox CROMPTON
Birth: 1882 Place: Mt Je(ffcot), Vic(toria)
Source: Victoria Pioneer Index Ref: 17071
Occupation: Farmer
Father: William Henry Cox (1842-1882)
Marriage: 03 May 1913
Place: Dorcas Street Presbyterian Church, South Melbourne
Wife: Alice Jessie Mabel DOBSON
Birth: ?1890 Place: South Brighton, Vic(toria)
Occupation: Domestic servant
Father: Robert DOBSON (1856-)
Mother: Jessie Marie Cochrane CARSE
Minister: William Goyer(?)
Witnesses: Ellen Caroline Eldridge and Thomas Crompton Forsyth
Right: Alice Jessie Mabel DOBSON perhaps taken in the late 1930's,
1940's or early 1950's when dressed, perhaps, for one of her children's
weddings.
1821info8a, sheet 3
Hoverbox Photo Gallery - Dorcas Street Presbyterian
(Uniting) Church 2006
This feature does not function correctly on phones and tablets
1. Fincham & Hobday organ of 1891
2. Organ loft and floor before restoration
3. The nave
1
2
3
Source: James Thorne, Diane Thorne (James' mother and Caleb's great great
grandchild) and information from the marriage certificate.
Family life
The Federal Australian Electoral Roll, which started 1903 and is available in Ancestry, shows
that bachelor William Henry COX-CROMPTON was living with his adoptive father in Drouin,
east-south-east of Melbourne. Charles Walter CROMPTON left the Drouin area in 1915. When Alice
Jessie Mable DOBSON married William Henry in 1913, they continued to live in Drouin until
sometime after the 1919 Roll. Alice is recorded as living in Athlone, 15km south-south-east of
Drouin.
1912 340 Crompton, Charles Walter, Yelverton, Drouin, grazier - Drouin subdivision of
Flinders
1912 341 Crompton, William Henry, Yelverton, Drouin, farmer
1914 336 Crompton, Alice Jessie Mabel, Athlone, home duties 15km from Drouin
1914 337 Crompton, Charles Walter, Yelverton, Drouin, grazier
1914 341 Crompton, William Henry, Yelverton, Drouin, farmer
Above: Map locating Dourin and Athlone
There is no Roll record for the Cox family until 1930 when the family appear in Casula, an area
of Sydney's south-western Liverpool suburb.
1930 1202 Cox, Alice Jessie, Campbelltown st., Casula, home duties - Liverpool
subdivision of Parramatta, NSW
1930 1212 Cox, William Henry, Campbelltown st., Casula, farm hand
1821info8a, sheet 4
In 1943 William Henry and Alice's second child, Bonnie, had been living at
1943 2105 Cox, Alice Jessie Elizabeth, 34 Haig Street, clerk - Bexley subdivision of
Barton, NSW
After the William Henry's death Alice Jessie and her daughter Alice
Jessie Elizabeth (Bonnie) moved. In the 1949 to 1958 Rolls they lived at
1949 1202 Cox, Alice Jessie, Casula Road, Casula, home duties - Liverpool
subdivision of Parramatta, NSW
1949 1202 Cox, Alice Jessie Elizabeth, Casula Road, Casula, clerk
Right: One of three 'original' bungalows, perhaps typical of Alice
Jessie's home in Casula Road, Casula, NSW in 2014
In 1944, William Henry Jnr. worked in the gardens of Hurlstone Agricultural College, Roy Watts
Road, Glenfield NSW, a south western suburb of Sydney. He died at the College whilst resting on a
shovel and telling a joke.
Colin William COX-CROMPTON
See above. Note he is registered as Cox-Crompton for his birth and death, but not marriage.
Source: GW Index Ref: 5580
William Cox CROMPTON
Birth: 1914 Place: Melb(ourne) E(ast), Vic(toria)
Source: Death Index Ref: 28762
Death: 1981 Place: Chel(tenham) (Melbourne) Vic(toria)
His early life
Until the birth of Stella May, William Henry's fifth child, the family has used the double-
barrel surname COX-CROMPTON - see
1821info8b. When Colin William '
fled' to Victoria as a young man, their being an assumed misdemeanour, he dropped the Cox part of
his surname.
'There is also another interesting story. This one surrounds Colin [william cox-
Crompton].
When Colin was in his late teens he had a relationship with a girl who didn't have the
cleanest reputation. One day she turned up at Colin's house and said that she was pregnant and
that Colin was the father. However, it was well known that Colin would not have been the only
potential father but, for whatever reason, this girl picked out Colin as being the one.
Colin's parents, William and Alice, were having none of it and refused to let this
girl see Colin. The police became involved as in those days it was a serious crime to get a girl
pregnant out of wedlock and not take responsibility for it in terms paying maintenance etc. So,
to escape the clutches of the police, William and Alice packed up their son and sent him down to
Victoria to stay with one of the Cromptons. Before he left, William and Alice advised Colin to
take his grandmother's maiden name and to be known as Colin Crompton. [William and Alice were
living in Casula Road, Casula, New South Wales]
Colin had to lay low in Victoria and keep a low profile. He was never caught by the
police, though they tried. At his father's funeral in 1944, the police were in attendance in case
he turned up.
1821info8a, sheet 5
My grandma was about nine when Colin left at the age of about 18 or 19. She didn't see
him again until she was in her late 40's, when she went on a holiday to Victoria.
Colin was a very talented cricketer and rose to the level of the state team. But,
nobody knew why Colin wouldn't go on tour and travel with the state team to NSW. He was afraid
of being arrested as soon as he got over the border. Colin didn't attend his mother's funeral as
the police were believed to waiting for him. He was never found by the police and lived a very
happy life with his wife and two children.'
Source: James Thorne, Diane Thorne (James' mother and Caleb's great great grandchild)
and information from the marriage certificate.
However, there is no record of a Colin/William/Cox/Crompton/Cox-Crompton listed as a Victoria
State cricketer. Colin Neil Cox-Crompton achieved this level.
Colin William married Daisy Maud(e) Cotton in 1935 (Vic BMD 8278). She was the daughter of
Edward Charles Cotton and Jessie Jennings, born in 1913 in Cheltenham, Victoria (Vic BMD 11000).
The Federal Australian Electoral Roll, which started 1903, and the Rate Book and which are
available in Ancestry, shows that Colin William and Daisy Maud lived at
1936 1595 Crompton, Colin William, Baker's rd, Mulgrave, hairdresser, Flinders a
sub-division of Ferntree Gully
1936 1596 Crompton, Daisy Maud, Baker's rd, Mulgrave, hd, Flinders a
sub-division of Ferntree Gully
until 1938 when they moved to:
1942 1942 Crompton, Colin William, 690 Glenhuntly rd, hairdresser, Glenhuntly a
sub-division of Henty
1942 1942 Crompton, Daisy Maud, 690 Glenhuntly rd, hd, Glenhuntly a sub-division of Henty
before moving up the road to
1949 1116 Crompton, Colin William, 720 Glenhuntly rd, hairdresser, Glenhuntly a
sub-division of Henty
1949 1117 Crompton, Daisy Maud, 720 Glenhuntly rd, hd, Glenhuntly a sub-division of
Henty
where they were recorded until 1954. According to the Rent Book
this was classified as a BS with five rooms at a rent of £4/17/6 in 1942,
increasing to £11 in 1946, £12/7/6 in 1947, £14/11/8 in 1950 and £20/12/6 in 1954.
Right: 709 Huntly Road, Elsternwick
By 1958 Colin William, Daisy Maud and their son Colin Neil had moved to
1958 6668 Crompton, Colin Neil, 11 Walden rd, SE9, clerk, Carnegie a sub-division of
Henty
1958 6669 Crompton, Colin William, 11 Walden rd, SE9, hairdresser, Carnegie a
sub-division of Henty
1958 6669 Crompton, Daisy Maud, 11 Walden rd, SE9, hd, Carnegie a sub-division of
Henty
1821info8a, sheet 6
and then to
1963 3948 Crompton, Colin Neil, 2 Warina rd, SE9, sales, Oakleigh a sub-division
of Henty
1963 3949 Crompton, Colin William, 2 Warina rd, SE9, hairdresser, Oakleigh a
sub-division of Henty
1963 3949 Crompton, Daisy Maud, 2 Warina rd, SE9, hd, Oakleigh a sub-division
of Henty
Until 1972-75 the couple lived at
1968 458 Crompton, Colin William, 73 Golf rd, hairdresser, Oakleigh South a
sub-division of Henty
1968 459 Crompton, Daisy Maud, 73 Golf rd, hd, Oakleigh South a sub-division
of Henty
before another move to
1977 2500 Crompton, Colin William, 1/2 Cella St, Bentleigh E, 3163, hrdsr, Moorabin a
sub-division of Higinbotham
1977 2501 Crompton, Daisy Maud, 1/2 Cella St, Bentleigh E, 3163, hd, Moorabin a
sub-division of Higinbotham
Alice Jessie Elizabeth CROMPTON
Source: GW Index Ref: 5251
Alice Jessie Elizabeth CROMPTON
Birth: 1916 Place: Melb(ourne) E(ast), Vic(toria)
Walter Henry CROMPTON
Source: GW Index Ref: 28304
Walter Henry CROMPTON
Birth: 1917 Place: Drouin, Vic(toria)
Walter Crompton-Cox burial form
is entitled Walter Henry COX with the Cox scored through. Does this indicate a
confusion of surname or a highlight? Liverpool Presbyterian Cemetery shows he was
buried as Cox in General Section: N Grave 31.
Right: Walter Crompton-Cox burial form
1821info8a, sheet 7
Heather Jean COX CROMPTON
Source: GW Index Ref: 21014
Heather Jean Cox CROMPTON
Birth: 1919 Place: Melb(ourne) E(ast), Vic(toria)
In 2006 Heather was living in Queensland.
Stella May COX
BIRTH REGISTERED IN NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
No.35
Date and place of birth
Name
Sex
Father's name occupation, age and birthplace
Date and place of marriage Previous issue
Mother's name maiden surname, age and birthplace
Informant
Particulars of registration
1922 19th March Wallombi Cessnock Five?
Stella May
Female
William Henry Cox Labourer 38 years Mount Jeffcott, Victoria
3rd May 1913 South Melbourne
Colin W 8 years Alice JM 6 years
Walter H 4 years Heather J 2 years Living
None deceased
Alice Jessie Dobson 31 years Moorabbin, Victoria
AJ Cox Mother Paynes Crossing
William J Frazer 28thMarch 1922
Left: Stella and Franks wedding, 9 January 1943
Left to right: John (Jack) Edmonds (the grooms younger brother), Heather COX, Janet
COX, Francis EDMONDS, Stella COX, William Henry COX-CROMPTON, Carmen COX, William Graham
(Gray) HAYDON (husband of Heather)
Below: Stella and her bridesmaids
1821info8a, sheet 8
Left: Frank EDMONDS, Stella's husband and William
Henry's son-in-law. He enlisted in the Australian Air-force to fight in WW2, but was
forced to leave because he had high blood pressure.
Right: A young Stella COX of an unknown date. The photograph
shows the Crompton wavy hair.
Above: Stella one week before she died in August 1978. She and
Frank had retired a month earlier and moved up the coast to Bateau Bay. They had spent the
previous couple of years building their retirement home there. Five weeks after they moved
in, she had a massive heart attack and died.
1821info8a, sheet 9
Neil Robert COX
BIRTH REGISTERED IN NEW SOUTH WALES,
AUSTRALIA
No.
Date and
place of birth of child
Name and whether parent or not
Sex
Father's name,
occupation, age and birthplace
Date and place of
marriage - previous issue
Mother's name,
maiden surname, age and birthplace
Informant
Witness
Particulars
of registration
47669
1928 5th October Campletown Road, Casula NS
Wales Municipality of Liverpool
Neil Robert not present
Male
William Henry Cox Farm Hand 45 years Mount
Jeffcott Victoria
3rd May 1913 South Melbourne Victoria
Colin W 14 Alice JE 12 Walter A 9 Heather A 8 Stella M 7 Carmen J 4
Charles B 2 Living none deceased
Alice Jessie Mabel Dobson
38 years Brighton, Victoria
William H Cox Father
Campletown Road, Casula, via Liverpool
Dr Pirie Nurse Smith
6th October 1928 Liverpool
BIRTH REGISTERED IN NEW SOUTH WALES,
AUSTRALIA
No.
Date and
place of birth of child
Name and whether
parent or not
Sex
Father's name,
occupation, age and birthplace
Date and place of
marriage - previous issue
Mother's name,
maiden surname, age and birthplace
Informant
Witness
Particulars
of registration
15776
1933 9th April 'Trescol' Private
Hospital 469 Alfred Street Municipality of North Sydney
Margaret Mary not present
Female
Eric Charles Barrett Account's Clerk
Health Dept 32 years Glenmorie NSW
1932 5th July Sydney NSW
Mary Jean Decline 27
years Albury NSW
EC Barrett Father 11 Lihon
Street. Lane Cove
Dr Shand Sister Jensen
10th
April 1933 North Sydney
The couple were married on 10 October 1959 (NSW Marriage 26827/1959)
1821info8a, sheet 10
MARRIAGES registered in the
District of Sydney at Liverpool in the State
of New South Wales by
John Michael Cronin Assistant District Registrar
1. No. in Register
279
2. Date and place of marriage
10th October, 1959. All Saints Church,
Liverpool
Bridegroom
Bride
3. Christian names and surnames
of parties
NEIL ROBERT COX.
MARGARET MARY BARRETT.
4. Occupation
Warehouse Manager.
Chemist.
5. Age
31 years.
26 years.
6. Condition
Bachelor.
Spinster.
7. Birthplace
Casula, NSW
North Sydney, NSW
8. Residence
Casula Road, Casula
Lidcombe Road, Lidcombe
9.Christian name
and surname of father Occupation of father Christian name and surname of mother
William Henry COX.
(Deceased) Clerk. Alice Jessie DOBSON. (Deceased)
Eric Charles BARRETT.
Manager State Hospital
Mary Jean DEVINE
10.Name of person or persons
giving consent where party or parties were miners
11. Name of celebrant Rites
according to which the marriage was celebrated
Roth Andrew John Delaney
Roman Catholic Church
12. Names of witnesses to
marriage
Allen R. Newbury J.E.
Cox
13. Signature of Assistant
District Registrar Date of registration
28th October, 1959.
This page was created by Richard Crompton
and maintained by Chris Glass
